A Composer’s Ear. A Craftsman’s Touch. A Listener’s Heart.

I began tuning pianos in 1974, studying first with Don Morton—the founder of Pacific Piano Supply and National President of the Piano Technicians Guild. A year later, I was fortunate to study with Bob McClure, the blind president of the Reno chapter of the Guild.

Over the years, I studied hands-on restoration with Sheldon Smith, then the lead piano technician for UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Symphony. For two years, I trained under Jim Donaldson—author of the definitive book on piano restringing and scale design—who had himself worked at both Steinway and Baldwin factories.

From 1978 to the present, my skills have been refined by thousands of hours tuning and tending to less common repairs of the pianos of real people in real homes. Each piano is different. Each voice is shaped by the life it lives in, and by the hands that play it. The longer I’ve tuned, the more I’ve come to hear the art in fine tuning.

Why I Tune

My clients—you—are endlessly fascinating to me. The brief social interlude of tuning your piano offers a counterpoint to the solitude of composing, directing, and producing music. I’m a piano tuner. And I’m also a composer, a musician, and a theatrical director. I carry those arts with me into every tuning. I listen not only for pitch but also for presence and resonance. For the subtle ways your piano seeks to express or even sing. And how it settles into stillness.

When I come to your home or studio, you receive:
 

• A precise and deeply musical tuning.

• A sensitivity not just to pitch but also to the piano’s presence—as the heart of the room it lives in.

• A quiet respect for the resonance between your piano and your life.
   

I listen for more than accuracy. I listen for character. For stillness. For breath.

Meeting each of you is a welcome experience.

Warmly,

John Geist

Piano Tuner · Composer · Singer · Director